Coy armed with his rifle and Cretzer with his .45 watched the officers make their entry into the gallery. They carefully took aim at the shadows moving down the caged corridor, and then once they had a sure shot, they fired almost in unison. As soon as the shots were discharged, Stites, Bergen and Cochrane instantaneously dropped for cover under a volley of return fire. The officers on the catwalk squeezed into the entrance, and they too started shooting into the cellhouse. A brief gun battle ensued while Bergen and Cochrane made a concerted effort to locate the origin of the gunfire, without success. Meanwhile, the deafening barrage was heard all the way to the city’s shores. Bergen yelled out to Stites to head for the stairs, where they could take cover and secure better positions from which to return fire. As Cochrane attempted to climb the stairs, he was violently struck by a bullet in his right arm. Bergen yelled emphatically to cease fire, and led the reluctant Cochrane back to the entrance. Richberger had also suffered a major gunshot wound to the leg, and in a painful low stance, he limped along the catwalk back to safety. Bert Burch, still tied and unable to move, tried to remain as still as possible to avoid being hit or targeted.
The team quickly regrouped outside the gallery entrance, and Bergen, full of determination, prepared to reenter and take control of the gallery. Bergen and Stites, now followed by the reserve officers, quickly rushed back into the building. Bergen had just begun a feverous search for Burch when the gunfire intensified, causing him to stop and take cover. Bergen and Mahan rushed to the stairwell while Stites and Oldham maintained their positions in the D Block section of the gallery. The gun gallery in the D Block section had an “L” shaped curve that paralleled the south cellblock wall. This section provided an excellent frontal view of the cells and the activity of the inmates. Bergen and Mahan carefully positioned themselves in a low stance, and prepared to return fire into the ghostly haze of smoke. As the reserves fired off piston-like bursts of gunfire into the cellblock, the assault team quickly navigated the stairwell, hoping to locate and extricate Officer Burch. Suddenly and without warning, while Stites was slowly advancing along the south wall of the gun gallery, he was struck by a bullet and fatally wounded.
A diagram hand drawn by Lieutenant Phil Bergen, showing the key event locations.
Officer Donald Martin kept a detailed journal of assignments on Alcatraz, and would be one of the officers sent in to recover the fatally wounded Harold Stites from the West Gun Gallery. His personal journal notes describe the injuries suffered by officers and detail the escape events.
The interior of the Gun Gallery section inside of D Block. Visible at floor level is the window from which the fatal shot struck officer Harold Stites.
Unconscious and completely unresponsive to his surroundings, Stites was lying supine and motionless at the southwest corner of D Block, bleeding profusely from a flank wound. Bergen and Mahan heard Oldham yelling out that Stites was badly hit, and quickly came to his aid. They immediately recognized the severity of his wounds, and each officer grabbed a leg to drag him along the gallery to the stairwell. Oldham joined in to help them carry the wounded officer, and he was struck in the arm as he passed one of the gallery windows. Stites was dragged out to the catwalk, where he lay bleeding in full view of the other officers positioned on the hillside. He was quickly carried into the administration area, where he was immediately pronounced dead. It was a sobering indicator of the gravity of the situation, and a final confirmation that this would not end peacefully. Bergen was now more determined than ever to free his fellow officers.
Bergen and Fred Mahan were now all alone in the West Gallery, studying every sound and every shadow.
Correctional Officer Fred Mahan.
Bergen and Fred Mahan were now all alone in the West Gallery, studying every sound and every shadow. The cellhouse remained still, and free of any movement. They could only hear an occasional cough or a muffled voice from an anonymous cell. Mahan maintained his position in the D Block end of the gallery, while Bergen advanced alone into the main area of the cellhouse. Bergen was especially cautious, and he studied every discernible figure and shadow that he could make out through the gallery bars. As he progressed cautiously through the darkened gallery, he finally came across Burch, who was cold and shivering, and relieved to hear Bergen’s voice. Burch briefed Bergen on what little he could remember. He didn’t recall being struck, but had some recollection of the fight that had ensued with an inmate who he believed to be Bernie Coy. Burch was sore and had several scrapes and bruises, but amazingly he didn’t appear to have suffered any other injuries. He was unclothed, except for his undergarments and socks.
Bergen and Burch slowly crawled their way back into D Block. As soon as they met up with Mahan, they called the Armory and notified the staff there that they had located Burch, and that he appeared to be unhurt. Burch was assisted out of the gallery and walked back into administration, where he was examined and provided with clothing. Against the advice of the physician, he immediately returned to the gallery to provide support. Bergen had decided to make another excursion into the West Gallery, where he would attempt to locate his fellow officers. Holding his pistol at the ready, he skillfully advanced into the narrow corridor. He again studied every tier of cells, looking for even the slightest indication of where the captives could be located. He ascended the staircase at the north end of the gallery, careful and alert, and ready to react should the convicts attempt to ambush him. As he made it to the top level, the mystery of how Coy had infiltrated the galley became clear. From a crouched position he could see the bars and how they had been bent. It was clear that Coy had somehow acquired tools that were capable of bending the steel that had been termed “tool-proof.” Bergen inspected the gallery, and was finally confident that no inmates were waiting in ambush. He descended back into the D Block section, where he was met by Mahan, and he reported his findings back to the Armory via the gallery telephone. Bergen and Mahan maintained their positions and continued a close surveillance of the cellhouse, awaiting further orders from the Warden’s office.
The Warden was behind closed doors, plotting with his aides about how to perform a stealthy rescue and free his men. With Lieutenants Isaac Faulk, Frank Johnson and Associate Warden Ed Miller, he debated the pros and cons of making entry into the cellhouse without firm knowledge of the whereabouts of the captive officers. It was later reported that Warden Johnston had also felt uneasy about sending in a team carrying weapons, which could potentially be seized by the already armed inmates. It was known that the inmates had only a small arsenal of weapons and ammunition, and the prison staff realized that the battle could intensify if the convicts secured more firearms and drew more inmates into their scheme. This had been one of the most critical elements of the security system at Alcatraz. Weapons were never to be allowed into the cellhouse under any circumstances. But clearly this type of situation had never been anticipated, and some invasive action would have to be implemented, beyond what was dictated by protocol.
The injured guards, Richberger, Cochrane, and Oldham, were driven down to the dock area. Johnston made a solemn trip over to meet with Bessie Stites and deliver the news of her husband’s tragic death. Her friends and children would assist her, as they gathered their belongings and met at the dock where her husband’s body lay tightly covered with a dark green army blanket. Harold P. Stites had become the first known fatality, and his body was lifted onto the bow of the launch for the brief trip over to the Van Ness Pier. As they arrived, they were met with a barrage of reporters snapping photos, desperate to get any information that was available. The news of Stites’ death was starting to spread, and the tension rose among the families, who feared the worst for their loved ones on the island. Ambulances lined the dock access path with their flashing red lights radiating against the buildings and water. When the launch arrived at the dock, four prison officers, Fred Richberger, Harry Cochrane, Herschel Oldham, and Elmus Besk, were rushed by ambulance to the Marine Hospital in the Presidio. The body of Harold Stites was solemnly loaded into the back of an ambulance and driven to the Medical Examiner’s Office, where it would immediately undergo an autopsy.